By Jon Moore:
We are a Pleistocene species living in the Holocene so we must use the sapiens in Homo sapiens to make full use of this unusual situation. The greatest of our skills is our ability to think. This is prescribed to some extent by our Pleistocene heritage but also supported by its curious origin. Of the many theories purporting to explain this, only one really fits with the evidence.
The one big change in hominid behaviour during the Pleistocene was cooking. Cooking creates energy-dense food and also has other cultural effects. To enable cooking, food must be gathered and not consumed on the spot. This means the strong do not muscle in on the weak, stealing their food. The energy density of the food and the communal pooling of this food created a situation that favoured certain evolutionary directions. In particular, it best suited those individuals most able to utilise the extra time freed from continually eating and those best adapted to cooperation. That this theory seems to match the evidence is somewhat counter intuitive to our nature. We tend to prefer strong leadership and an idea backed up by authority. The Church, the State and organising scientific principles are all resistant to change, even when the evidence is overwhelming. Theory is King.
Peru and Australia are linked by the Southern Oscillation and its cyclical variation between El Niño and La Niña. Droughts in the Australian eastern states are paralleled by rainfall on the Peruvian plains and drought in the Peruvian Andes (El Niño). This evidences a human attachment to theory, as seen by an increase in human sacrifice by the Chan Chan people in the dying years of their empire. The theory held that such sacrifice had always appeased the weather gods. If, as was the case, the weather became continually resistant to such sacrifices, then greater numbers sacrificed would have the desired effect. So a people on the Peruvian plains would, during an El Niño, see their human sacrifices rewarded with rainfall.
Chan Chan archaeological site, Peru. Credit: J. Stander
During the 1500s a long period of El Niño, stretching some forty years, saw the theory reinforced, leading to growth in food production and population through increased rainfall and food production. This was followed by a twenty year La Niña weather pattern. Therefore as rainfall collapsed, the number of human sacrifices rose. Apparently the weather gods were not listening. Eventually the great cities were torched and abandoned along with the theory.
In the Old World at a roughly similar time, Galileo was providing evidence to support the idea the earth was not the centre of the universe. Despite this evidence, the Church decided their traditional theory was correct. The notion may not have included human sacrifice, per se, but heretics were still burnt at the stake. This has a certain logic when the matters of dispute relate to theology. An alternative interpretation of the divinity/humanity of Christ cannot be proved either way so the more powerful theology is the one backed by armies. In matters of the physical universe, evidence trumps theology every time, it just takes a few centuries for it to sink in. In the case of the Peruvians, a few decades, in the case of the American Christian Right, it’s going to take a little longer.
We stick to a theory that works within certain limits. In the case of the Peruvians, the limit was starvation. In the case of the Church versus science, it made little difference to the masses whether we spin round the sun or it’s the other way round. The same can be said of E=mc2, the Higgs-Boson particle or exoplanets. Most people seem to reduce their lives down to a simple theory of some sort or other that is unaffected by cosmology or quantum theory. “Debt keeps me at work, debt allows me to have wide screen TVs, give the kids a good education and plan for retirement,” appears to be the dominant theory in the West. Anything that might disrupt this cosy theory will lead to political upheaval, with inflation, deflation, unemployment and “excessive” immigration the usual culprits.
To ensure a new threat to the theory is taken seriously, it must affect the subject in a personal way and be repeated ad nauseum to reinforce its relevance. If it includes fear as well then so much the better, though this can prove to be a double- edged sword. Fear can reinforce a theory as well as being used to destroy it. War has been the historical method used to reinforce fear of the loss of the comfortable theory and it is even better if the war is only a propaganda war with no actual physical conflict. Cold wars are great for profit. They keep individuals beavering away, up to their necks in debt and weapons upgrades are constantly being paid for by the debt -riddled taxpayer. On top of this, if the mentioned tax payer is cocooned in a wall of sound (see Part IV) and thereby not thinking critically, the theory is perpetuated.
What we need to remember about the dominant theory running in our society is we have not been forced into accepting it. We have willingly or, perhaps more accurately, blindly accepted this situation as normal. In this state of mind the great unwashed masses are ripe for added fears. Now think back over the past decade and aside from “The War on Terrorism” or war against any other noun, is there one fear and guilt-based campaign building upon and suggesting threats to the wage slave theory? Climate change media infatuation has been tailored in such a way to feed upon fear. Guilt is then smeared on top. It goes something like this: You will lose everything you have struggled to own, society will collapse. It is all your fault your children and grandchildren will burn to a crisp.
To illustrate: a local council employee at flood-stricken Goondiwindi was quoted on a news bulletin last year as saying he had never seen floods as bad as the one which had struck the Queensland town and added that he’d lived in Goondiwindi since 1975, so it must be climate change. Well of course he wouldn’t have. The last period of consistent heavy rainfall in the region ended in 1974. Brisbane had days up to 40 degrees Celsius in 1968 and from 1970 on for four years they were subjected to the tail end of cyclones and the effects of monsoonal depressions. Townsville and Darwin were hit by cyclones, Brisbane flooded in this period. Since then a drier and hence hotter period has occurred. Now the rains are back, we are in for a period of wetter and hence cooler weather. It’s what happens. The Pleistocene mind though grabs for the first theory that seems to explain the observed data. The data set though is infinite and we can never have all the information.
What are we to do then? First of all we can identify which myth we are living. Second we can avoid all opportunities for debt. Our society is set up to ensure about a third of the population is held captive by a mortgage. If you must, then sacrifice everything you can afford to end your debt. Currently government debt as a percentage of GDP is about 15% in Australia. Private debt is over 100% of GDP. This gives our politicians huge scope to buy swinging voters in marginal seats. If our private debt was only 50% of GDP we could tell political parties where to get off. So the first step is to reduce debt.
The second step is to think critically and to teach our children to do the same. Schools have abandoned this task and are only interested in teaching the gender consequences of calculus and comparative everything. The nature of comparative studies is such that nothing can be held true. Everything is culturally dependant yet the laws of physics apply whether we believe in them or not. Pure science, physics, chemistry, mathematics, geology do not lie. Our interpretations may be in error but the truth is constant. Approach areas claiming to be scientific that do not have replicable experiments with extreme caution. Things like economics, climatology, sociology and psychology fall into this category. These were the growth areas of the twentieth century. Learn to use your Pleistocene mind for what it is good at, pattern interpretation, understanding cycles but always remember it has its short-term limitations. Be open to the possibility of change for that is all we have!
Earth philosopher, organic farmer, family man, archaeologist and author, Jon is well-known in his hometown as a dispenser of independent, wide-ranging wisdom to anyone who will listen, an excellent raconteur and a regular imbiber of fine coffee. Already working on a number of related publication projects, Jon’s first book, Zen Druid will be available in August 2010. Follow Jon’s latest venture at Living the Dream.
I thought we were now in the anthropocene.